Labor Day honors the people whose work helped build America. Today, it also offers an opportunity to consider how a lifetime of work becomes financial security in retirement.
The first Labor Day celebration took place in New York City on September 5, 1882. Oregon became the first state to formally recognize the holiday in 1887, and Congress made the first Monday in September a national holiday in 1894. Its purpose was to recognize the social and economic contributions of American workers.
As Labor Day took shape in the late 19th century, retirement was also emerging as a new stage of life. Today, workers expect to retire, but the system supporting that expectation has changed significantly.
For much of the 20th century, many workers relied on employer-managed pension plans that promised an income in retirement. Today, responsibility has shifted increasingly toward the individual through defined-contribution plans such as 401(k)s. Instead of receiving a predetermined pension benefit, workers are generally responsible for saving, selecting investments, managing risk, and eventually converting accumulated assets into income.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 helped expand features such as automatic enrollment, automatic contribution increases, and target-date funds. These developments improved the accumulation process for many workers, but accumulation is only part of the challenge.
As Rewiring America's Retirement explains, the retirement system was built to help people accumulate wealth. It must now help them accomplish something equally important: live on it. The central question is no longer only, “How much have I saved?” It is also, “How can those savings support consistent spending throughout retirement?”
This is where thoughtful retirement planning can add value:
• Align investments with their time horizon, spending needs, and tolerance for risk
• Diversify assets and address concentration risk
• Build layers of protection as retirement approaches
• Plan for inflation, market declines, taxes, and unexpected expenses
• Evaluate how Social Security and other income sources fit together
• Create a disciplined withdrawal strategy that balances current spending with long-term sustainability
The attached article summarizes the retirement journey in three words: grow, protect, spend. Earlier in life, the focus may be growth. As retirement approaches, protection and income become more important. In retirement, the objective shifts toward supporting consistent spending.
Labor Day reminds us that wealth begins with work. Good planning helps ensure that the assets created by that work are managed with purpose and positioned to support the life that follows.
You work for your money throughout your career. Retirement planning is about preparing your money to work for you.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the techniques and strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
Source: Brunswick Review Issue 26 2026: Rewiring America's Retirement